Compare the Ways in Which Hopkins’ ‘God’s Grandeur’ and...

British poets during the nineteenth century, a period of great social, economic and environmental change, experienced an astounding shift in poetic style, in which many based their work on the ‘beauty’ of their surroundings, and how mankind affected this. Of this period, two of the leading nature poets in British literary history, Gerard Manley Hopkins and William Wordsworth became known, renowned as great figures in British literary history. Both adopted a ‘sacramental’ view of nature, that is they saw beyond the obvious features commonly associated with the natural world such as phenomenal features of the landscape. Writing during the Industrial Revolution, both poets considered the divinity and holiness at a deeper level and found that†¦show more content†¦This shows that the author knows humanity’s potential, but the mentality of ‘getting and spending’ clouds people’s perspective. Wordsworth does not see us as incapabl e, but in fact he describes our ability as ‘powers’, which ‘we lay waste’ in the earlier mention of materialism, showing that they have been utterly destroyed. This is a strong example of the bleak outlook and tone Wordsworth uses throughout his octet. Conversely, Hopkins focuses on explicit industrialisation and its effects, which include electricity and pollution; in particular demonstrated through his use of imagery, such as ‘smudge’, ‘bleared, smeared’ and ‘smell’. However, he emphasises an element of hope throughout his poem, demonstrated in his conclusions and positivity shown in the opening lines, whereas Wordsworth’s outlook remains somewhat bleak and indecisive. Noticeably, both poems open with the words ‘The World’, which shows the subject of their poems. However, the poets develop their views in a somewhat contrasting fashion. Wordsworth’s opening, ‘The world is too much with us; late and soon,’ gives a fatalistic view of the world. The words ‘late and soon’ express how both past and future generations are included in his characterisation of mankind. This appears a more typical interpretation of his words, whereas on a deeper level this could refer to dusk and dawn, which could support the idea of repristination, a theme both poets explore. The